Opening Eyes to Football

Welcome

Blind Football Ireland is a newly formed body which seeks to provide footballing opportunities for blind people living in Ireland. The group is a collaboration between the FAI and Vision Sports Ireland.

At present we are trying to identify both male and female players of all ages who are blind and may be interested in trying out the sport.

How the sport is played

Blind (B1) Football is played on a hard surface 20m by 40m with kick-boards on both sides of the pitch running the length of the pitch. The game uses a ball with ball bearings in it to allow the ball to make a noise and give the players the chance to know where the ball is.

It is a 5-v-5 game with all 4 outfield players fully blind wearing eye patches and blindfolds to ensure no light gets in. The two goalkeepers are fully sighted.

There are 3 coaches allowed to speak with players during a match. The goalkeeper in the defensive third, a coach on the halfway line and finally an attacking coach behind the opponents goal. These coaches can only speak with the players when the ball is in their third of the pitch.

The game is an extremely skilful and fast paced game with all players defying the norm demonstrating that you don’t need your eyes to play the beautiful game